One of the things Art and Barbara wanted to do during their visit was take a trip to the Grand Mosque here in Muscat. We didn’t take the boys because this mosque doesn’t allow children under the age of 10 and they weren’t all that thrilled to spend one of their precious days off at the mosque, so we had pity on them and let them stay home with Lucy.
I was all dressed in my appropriate mosque-going gear: headscarf, long skirt, long sleeved shirt. We get up to the front gate and the guy points at my skirt and says, “Not acceptable.” Ah, yes. In order for my long skirt to be practical to walk in, it has a small slit that exposes part of my shin. The flash of an ankle and one shin as I walked made my attire too risqué to be permitted to enter.
So Josh was all over the guy in Arabic and they had a conversation that ended with the same result — no entrance for the harlot with the slit in her skirt. I went into the gift shop to see if they had a safety pin or some tape, but they had neither. The guy behind the counter did volunteer to sell me a pair of socks. Really? That’s all I need? Sure, give me a sock to cover up my nakedness.
So he hands me a small box and inside are those super sheer black pantyhose socks like grandmas used to wear with slacks. I pull one on and it comes to right above my ankle so I ask the guy for a pair of scissors, cut off the toe of the other one and stacked them. Then because I was wearing flip-flops I cut a slit in the toe so I could get my sandal on. The entire thing was ridiculous because you could practically see my skin through the sheer fabric anyway, but whatever. The guy behind the counter got quite the giggle out of the situation. I could tell he’s never seen anyone butcher a pair of “socks” the way I did. I swear, every time I go to a mosque, it’s always something . . .
All covered up and ready to go
An up close view of my “modest” leg.
After that drama, they were going to have a hard time winning the award for “My Favorite Mosque,” but I tried to keep an open mind. Yes, I had to wear an abaya in Abu Dhabi, but at least it was provided free of charge for everyone and they didn’t declare that my ankles were too awesome for public viewing.
The women’s prayer room in the above photos wasn’t anything spectacular, but the women’s rooms are rarely where the mosques shine. They aren’t used as frequently so they don’t put the same effort into decorating them.
The inside of the main room was beautiful, but not as much my style as the Grand Mosque in Abu Dhabi. And I promise it’s not because I’m bitter about the socks. This mosque used to have the largest carpet in the world (until the record was broken by Abu Dhabi), but the carpet didn’t fit the room properly — the corners were all bunched up against the pillars and the lines in the pattern in the carpet had been stretched so they were not longer straight, but wobbled their way around the room. Minor details, but the finishing should be immaculate if you’re talking about a record breaking mosque (I think it’s currently the 7th largest in the world).
The ceilings had dark wood inlay with gorgeous crystal chandeliers hanging all over the room. This sad picture of the dome is the only one I got. For scale, look at the picture below. That huge structure is the small arch in the bottom center of this picture. The place is enormous.
Close up of the front of the prayer room and the tile work that covered the walls and the dome.
part of the dome
This is the largest of the chandeliers that hangs from the central dome. It sparkled with all different colors: red, blue, white — the photos are a pale comparison to the real thing.
By zooming in, my camera caught a tiny bit of the color. It was all white, but the way the crystals were cut caught the light and illuminated it like it was made of a million little prisms.
These gorgeous arched windows lined both sides of the room.
In Abu Dhabi, we were able to walk on the carpet, sit on the carpet, feel the carpet. Here we had to walk on blue sheets that were laid out all over the floor with only a small portion of the carpet exposed. Our visit to the mosque in Muscat was like being invited to an open house. Walk through, look around, take a few pictures. Our visit to the mosque in Abu Dhabi was like being invited to a friend’s house — come in, sit down, let’s talk for a while.
Making sure to keep appropriate space between us so we don’t break the “no touching!” rule.
I gave a quick class in the art of self-photography
Aside from the initial trauma over my leg, the rest of the visit was uneventful. It was a grand mosque, but it still can’t topple my favorite. We’re planning on coming back with the kids (the 10 and older rule only applied to inside the mosque, not the grounds) and I’ll be sure to bring my own sock next time.